Chapter 5

Ben was glad to be back in Florida and yet at the same time he missed being with Jodie. There of course was Tracie who he smiling thought was a solid backup. After he rested up from Jodie and recharged his batteries he would give Tracie a call.

With this additional territory Ben had been given, he felt it was like the old days when he was first starting in this shoe business which had now expanded to include wearing apparel. In a short time, he had with Stacy Bowman’s help established four Bifty Stores in outlet malls on Florida’s West Coast. Based on the reports he was receiving they showed these stores were turning a profit. Ben’s income was also being supplemented by the online shopping done by the consumers living in those stores’ zip codes.

He hired Colin Bradly to be the overall manager of these four stores. Colin had received a week’s training from Stacy Bowman who managed the stores up north on how to do this managing.

Ben’s opinion was that while online shopping was a popular way to shop, women in general, preferred to visit stores and see the merchandise before purchasing it. Men were not big fans of visiting stores and they preferred to shop online. Even though Ben had that opinion, he would limit having four Bifty Stores here for now.

A problem he addressed was the possibility of smash-and-grab or shoplifting happening in his stores. With that in mind, several video cameras were installed along with heavy-duty doors whose electronic locks were controlled at the cash register. A no-mask policy was clearly stated at the entrance door along with the salespeople wearing a two-holster belt that contained Tasers. Someone remarked that this was like the old Wild West. Ben thought it was just a sign of the times.

There was an increase in the local police presence at the malls since the towns here wanted to avoid the reputation that big cities were developing because of increased crime. All these efforts resulted in no incidents other than a few individual apprehensions of shoplifters. This was money well spent thought Ben.

Ben phoned Tracie and took her out to dinner. She was excited because she had authored a novel about a female Florida detective who gets involved with human trafficking. She had submitted this novel for publication in her name only. She was told that would happen and that she would need to go on a tour visiting various cities publicizing the novel.

Tracie’s happiness in hearing that news translated into her being an enthusiastic bedmate. It could also be said she became somewhat adventurous when they were in bed as she wanted to have intercourse in a few different positions. In his reading of her novels, he could see that some of these amorous activities were described in the novels she wrote.

It didn’t surprise Ben when he read an email from Myles announcing a new model of a men’s shoe. This new shoe had a two-inch high sole. This should appeal to the height-challenged man was the thought Myles expressed for this new shoe’s introduction.

Ben was into what someone would say was his normal routine. That consisted of phoning his office either daily or every other day, golfing to include golfing in tournaments, bedding Tracie and recently doing some fishing.

The relationship he had with Tracie seemed to be slightly deteriorating and he wasn’t sure why that was. In having a conversation with her about it, she said she has become involved with a man who lives in her community. Because of that, she told Ben that they needed to end the dates they were having. She said this man seemed to be the one for her.

Being intimate with Tracie was good while it lasted thought Ben. He for some reason wasn’t overly disappointed as he knew soon or later his relationship with Tracie was going to end. Smiling to himself he gave it the thought that there were more fish in the sea.

Ben’s business in his opinion was running on automatic pilot. He was satisfied with how shoe locations and corresponding shoe sales were doing on the West Coast of Florida. He had hired people who were conscientious and good at doing their jobs. Now and then something would happen that required his attention but it was usually a minor problem he could quickly resolve. He probably spent more time figuring out what should be the amount of the bonuses he was giving his employees than he did in the actual managing of the business.

What wasn’t generally known was that Bifty Shoes gave Ben a substantial bonus over and above the commission he received for shoe sales. Those funds he just put into his investment account which already could support a comfortable life style in retirement when that time came. Ben was also contributing other funds to this account and with a rising stock market the value of his investment account was increasing substantially.

At the annual corporate meeting, Myles acknowledged the efforts of his sales managers and gave out rewards to his better-performing managers. Ben received a one-week Caribbean cruise for the increase in his sales and he needed to use this award.

He thought of who he would take on this cruise was somewhat limited. After giving it more thought he placed a phone call to Jodie. She sounded happy that he phoned. There was some of the, “How are you doing” and “What is new with you” talk.

Jodie said for something to do and to keep busy she had become a high school substitute teacher and subbed at two schools. She was averaging close to two days a week in doing this.

Ben said he phoned her to see if she wanted to test her sea legs. She asked him what that meant and he explained about this cruise that was going out of Fort Lauderdale in two weeks. She said she had never been on a cruise and this would be something different for her to do.

He told her to book a flight to come down here two days before the sailing date and they would drive over to the port when it was time. He also told her to email certain information to him and bring her passport. He suggested she look at the web for hints on what she needed to pack and bring with her.